Mandal Arnel (R) of the Philippines wins the final against Pratama Laksamana Pandu (L) of Indonesia in the men's 52 kg. wushu Sanda at the Southeast Asian Games on Dec. 3, 2019 in Manila, Philippines.
No, “baseball5” isn’t a typo, it’s one of two new sports added to the Youth Olympic Games program.
If that and wushu, the other new sport on the docket, are unfamiliar, fear not. You’ve got until 2022 to get up to speed on the new and exciting events the youth of the world will contest in Dakar, Senegal.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board officially added the new sports to the program on Wednesday after consultation with the National Olympic Committees. The new sports were chosen based on their high levels on engagement with young people around the world as well as having a favorable gender-balanced profile.
Baseball5 is considered an urban variant of baseball, designed for teams of five players competing over five innings. The mixed-gender sport uses a rubber ball on a scaled down diamond. Basepath distances are closer to Little League dimensions at 59 feet. Baseball5 was designed to be played anywhere, and has developed recently in Africa.
Wushu makes the Youth Olympic competition program after being considered for the Olympic Games program for Tokyo; it was also part of the Sports Lab at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Games. A combat sport, wushu blends elements of martial arts and performance. It is increasingly popular with 159 federations around the world, including 39 in Africa.
The two sports news to an Olympic program of any sort join the already-approved breaking, climbing, skateboarding and surfing.
The 2022 Youth Olympic Games will be the fourth edition of the Games, and the first Olympic event held on the African continent. The IOC Executive Board also approved the dates for the games, Oct. 22 to Nov. 9, 2022. These will be the latest Youth Olympic Games yet, chosen to take place at the beginning of Senegal’s dry season.
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.